Michigan’s fall camp is starting to spit out the kind of updates that matter once the season actually gets here: health, recruiting, and a few position battles that could shape the early weeks.
The biggest good news is that safety Rod Moore and EDGE John Henry Daley are both back in the mix after season-ending injuries. Moore is coming off an ACL tear that happened back in 2024, and after only playing three games in 2025, had to shut it down due to lingering problems and having to clean things up in his knee.
Daley is working back from a ruptured achilles tendon from November of 2025, when he was still with Kyle Whittingham at Utah. Both players are now fully cleared to practice, but the staff is taking the long view and keeping them limited for now.
#Michigan HC Kyle Whittingham says safety Rod Moore and EDGE John Henry Daley are 100% clear and good to go. He adds he loves what he’s seen front hem thus far in fall camp.
However, the coaches are not trying to rush them into action and still on a snap count.
- Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) August 10, 2026
That approach makes sense with Week 1 still ahead. The Wolverines want both players ready when it counts, and there’s no reason to burn them up in August.
On the recruiting side, four-star quarterback Kaden Craft has locked in a commitment date for August 17, and Michigan is firmly in the hunt. Craft’s top six includes Oregon, LSU, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Florida, and Michigan. He’s ranked as the No. 108 player in the class of 2028, the No. 8 quarterback, and the No. 4 player in North Carolina, according to 247Sports Composite rankings.
Michigan currently has one commit in the Class of 2028: Ryan Jung, the No. 1 kicker in the class. Craft would be a major add for Whittingham as he continues building out that group.
There’s also some preseason buzz building around wide receiver Andrew Marsh. He led Michigan’s wideouts last season with 651 receiving yards and four touchdowns as a freshman, and now he’s landed on the Paul Hornung Award watch list. That honor goes to the most versatile player in college football, and it’s another sign that Marsh is headed for a bigger role in year two, especially with his connection to quarterback Bryce Underwood continuing to grow.
Up front, the left tackle race is getting tighter by the day. Andrew Babalola and Blake Frazier have been the names most people were watching, but Evan Link is right there too after returning for one more season. Link held the job last year before his injury, and now he’s back in the mix for what looks like one of the most competitive battles on the roster.
#Michigan HC Kyle Whittingham says the main three battling for the left tackle spot is Andrew Babalola, Blake Frazier and Evan Link
- Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) August 10, 2026
With camp rolling on, Michigan’s picture is getting clearer in a few places and more crowded in others. That’s usually how this time of year goes.
In Other News...
Dusty May Finally Opened Up About His Sudden Michigan Exit
Dusty May was back in Ann Arbor recently for a hip procedure, and the timing also gave him a chance to talk publicly about how quickly his Michigan tenure ended. In an interview with Brian Boesch, the former Wolverines coach looked back on a stretch that moved faster than anyone expected, even after he had just guided Michigan to a national title.
May said the shift came after the championship run, when the NBA came calling and the Dallas Mavericks made their pitch. He pointed to the leadership in Dallas, the young core on the roster and the chance to coach at that level as major factors, a combination strong enough to pull him into a move that arrived earlier than he had originally planned. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Chasing Another High-Upside Defensive Line Project
Michigan has kept leaning into high-upside defensive line bets, and Jeremiah Mark is the latest name to surface on the 2027 board. A former basketball player who is still relatively new to football recruiting, Mark has already started drawing multiple Power Five offers, which is why his rise has begun to attract the attention of major programs across the country. Michigans recent commitment from four-star edge rusher Ifeanyi Emedobi, another player with limited football experience, fits the same mold and shows the staff is clearly willing to bet on traits as much as polish.
The next step in that pursuit will come with a game-day visit, as Michigan plans to bring Mark in for a closer look in an atmosphere that should give him a feel for the programs pitch and development track. For a staff that has already shown a willingness to chase raw, toolsy defensive linemen early, the visit is another chance to make an impression before the recruiting battle gets even busier. Mark is also making the rounds at several major conference schools, so Michigan will need that visit to land well if it wants to stay in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Bryce Underwood Just Landed In A Heated Big Ten QB Debate
The preseason Big Ten quarterback conversation is already getting testy, and Michigans Bryce Underwood is right in the middle of it. Todd McShay and Josh Pate turned in sharply different quarterback rankings, with McShay bristling at where Pate slotted UCLAs Nico Iamaleava and Underwood among the conferences top passers. The disagreement comes down to philosophy as much as personnel, with one side leaning on what has already been shown on the field and the other trying to project what these quarterbacks can become.
For Michigan fans, Underwoods spot in the debate is a sign of how quickly his name has entered a bigger conversation. The freshman season is the backdrop here, and so is the broader uncertainty around how to weigh upside against proven production in a league that is always eager to argue about quarterbacks. Iamaleavas recent career moves and uneven performance only add another layer to the discussion, but the real tension is whether rankings like these should reward present-day rsum or long-term expectation. [Read more 🡒]